The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1887-02-09
COVENANT WITH ABRAM.
NOTES ON THE INTERNATIONAL
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON.

A ~ >N'' Nv -
critical nnd Practical Notes by Samuel
Ives Curtiss, I'll. ID, ID. d., OF Chicago.
IntrWluction.-God Ind promised Abram
that l.c Should become Il great milton; that
lie would make his seed MS the dust of tho
earth, and that lie would give him The land
OF Canaan. Az yct there was no fulfllmcnt
OF either promise. Ablnm had no son, ho
did not own II foot OF lnnd compare Acts vii,
81, and tho years were slipping fnst away. 1t
is for this reason TINT God appears to him iii
Il vision and comforts him with the assrr-
ancotlint Ilu is his shield and tlnt his reward
"sllalI be exceeding great" roviscl edition,
M%nIr,in). Ablnm at onco thinks of an in
crease of his possessions, nnd nsls God why
lie should give him anything moro when ho
has no cllild. God therefore renows tho
promise that he shall have a sou.
THE LESSON.
His Postcrity Like the Stars ". 5).-He
| tllcn lcids him ont and bids him look toward
heaven, and count. if lo is able, tho stars.
which nrc sparkling with all the brilliuncy Of
III Oriental sky. Whit an inspiring similc!
His seed was to he us numerous MS The stars,
aud many OF them were To shine as the stars
until tlloy should palo before tho brightness
Of tho star Of lothlchcn. Compare Num-.
xiv, II and Row. xxi, 1G.)
Justification by Faith ". O.-This verso re-
cords Two great fncts: |. Abram beloved in
jehovah; =. jehovah counted or rpclioncd il
to hiui us righteousness. Abrams life, as we
shall see, was ono grand example of faith.
| lilo left his %fatlor's house because ho believed
in Jcliovnh. At tho most trying periods of
his career, when other mons faith would have
| failed, his triumpllcl. Abrnm did not have
Gods written word; but lo followed Go,ls
will, as far us he know it, closely. Whatever
,>t,1,t Ia, Lie. fniIi,,nc lo 1,nl finn ct,irit Of
obedience. III this particular instance he be-
lievcd Jcliovahs promise that lie should have
n son. God accepted his fifth us righteous
ness, that is, right living. But Abrams faith
and works went together DANES ii, 2l-25).
He did The things which Jehovah commanded
because he believed IN jehovah. He was
| feeding, us tho psalmist says, OH foithfulness,
and was ono of the just, described by the
prophet, who live by faith. His life fur
nislies the illustration OF tho apostolic doctrine
Of justification by faith Qtom. |, II; iv, 3;
| Gal. iii, 6; Hob. \, 3S,, which became the key
note Of the German Reformation.
Tho Sign of the Covenant Tvs. Z, Sal
though lie believes that llc is to have n son, no
is still III doubt about the land. But God tells
him thnt he hus brought him out OF Ur of tho
ChnldccS to givC him the lnud. Abram nsks
| Il sign. Col conlescends to give il to him, ms
lc aftcrward condcsccndcd to give signs to
Gideon (Judgcs vi, II, 3G-iN, }Ie2ckiah III
Kings xX, SID and even to AlaA isaiah vii,
lI-1D.
vs.. O., 10. The sigl, which Cod gave Abram
| was q covenant. In commercial language it
! was Il contract TINT he entered into With him.
1t was rs though w people should make a
deposit OF u large amount Of money, To be
held by somo trustworthy person, and should
agree by II written contract, properly signed
and sealed before II notury, that in case either
q them ny ah9pla f eNa ta f nl !s tha s9nAit!S,,s 81
money to tho other.
Lifo, however, is moro precious thn,i money.
III this covenant jehovah conlcsconds to
stand on cqnnl terms with Abram, and thus
really promises, rs If ho woro u mar, that IL
he docs not fulfill the conditions Of tho cove
nnnt he will forfeit his lifo compare Jeremiah
xXxiv, IL, 1920. Covenant in Hebrew sig
miles something that is cut. Tho Hebrews
speak Of cutting q covenant where we speak
| Of making q covenant. Abram WIS to pro-
pare tho prcliminarics. Ho wns to tako q
hcifcl, u. sho goat and II lamb, cnch 8 years
OF ago, and was to divide thcm into two equal
parts, putting onr-hulf on ono side and the
other haN OH tho other, leaving room to walk
between tho parts. Ilc also took a turtle
dove md II young pigeon, but he did not di-
| WIN tllGlkt. L Nv Sottt ~ 'ti~ii INV ASsth>A
of Canaan was to DO conveyed TO Abram, as
We might shy, was ready to he signed and
senlcd, but before This takes plncc no must
understand it's provisions.
Conditions of tho Covenant Tvs. 1l-1G.-
These aro indicated In tho following verses.
Naturally, but %fttingly, tho birds of prey,
who forcsnadow what is to DO revealed to
him, light upon tho carcasscs, and no drives
them away. AS tho sun is going down n
dccp sleep falls upon Abram. 1t Is the Same
kind of sleep that Adam IS said to llnvc slept
when Evc was created. Tho birds OF prey,
which may bo regarded as n symbol of evil,
arc followed by the horror Of a great dark
moss. Through these natural ~portcnts his
mind is prepared for tho unwclconc an
normcclncnt regarding his postcrity. His
seed is to DO q stranger in n land that is not
theirs. They nrc to scrvo the owners OF that
land, who will Cypress them 400 years. But
OH that nation God will visit soro judg.
mcnts.
Aftcrward Abrams descendants arc to
comc out with great possessions. Abram is
to 20 to his fathers III peace. III this passage
thoro Is an intimation of existence after
death. 10 is to enjoy tho greatest Of tom
poral blessings, according to tho Old Testa-
mcnt-nnmoly, that Of long life Eek. XXX, 10;
Prov. iii, 2; Isa. Ky, 20; ho Is to bo buried
i'll q good old lgc. IN tho fourth genorntion,
or in 400 years, reckoning the word genera
ton in its widest Significance of 100 years, his
children nlo to return to Canaan. -Four hun-
drcd mere is simply II round number, the ex-
act number being 1870 years Tx. xii, 40-i1;
compare Gal. Ill, 10. Ono thing is men
toned which stands in tho way of Abrams
immediate possession OF the land-tho in
EQUITY of tho Amoritc is not full. This is sig
nificamt language. God is slow in executing
his judgments. IIo docs not sweep man from
tho earth through tho flood until IL Is full of